NEUROTECHNOLOGY IN ACTION
9.123/20.203
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life before neurotechnology…
Image is in public domain.
Image is in public domain. The Iconographic Encyclopaedia of
Science, Literature and Art, 1851, via Wikimedia Commons.
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modern optics and staining: delineation of the neuron!
Zeiss !
microscope 1870
Golgi stain (1873)!
Ramon y Cajal neural microanatomy (1894)!
Image is in public domain.
Image is in public domain.
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electrophysiology: electrical behavior of neurons
Hodgkin-Huxley model (1952)
Image is in public domain.
© Nobel Media AB. All rights reserved. This content is excluded from our Creative
Commons license. For more information, see http://ocw.mit.edu/help/faq-fair-use/.
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brain imaging: noninvasive studies of structure and function
X-ray CT (1971)
MRI (1973)!
Courtesy of the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging and
Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Consortium
of the Human Connectome Project www.humanconnectomeproject.org.
PET (1975)
Image is in public domain.
Image is in public domain.
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continuing innovation
rapid growth
(diversity wanted)
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license. For more information, see http://ocw.mit.edu/help/faq-fair-use/.
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National Academy of Engineering. Accessed October 14, 2010. http://www.nationalacademies.org.
The WHITEHOUSE. "Brain Initiative." Accessed April 2,
2013. https://www.whitehouse.gov/BRAIN.
Human Brain Project. https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/.
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the scale of the brain…
numerous brain regions
macroscale to nanoscale
1011 neurons
1014 synapses
Courtesy of Allan Ajifo on Flickr. CC license BY.
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the complexity of the brain…
“forest” of cell types
complex interconnectivity
cellular and subcellular features
Image of neural signaling is in public domain.
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the speed of the brain…
spiking in millisecond
plasticity in seconds to days
development in days to years
Image is in public domain.
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better penetration
greater density, less invasive
(also cf. optogenetics)
better resolution, speed, specificity
higher throughput
Grinvald & Hildescheim (2004) Nat. Rev. Neurosci.
Reprinted by permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd: Nature Reviews Neuroscience © 2004.
Source: Grinvald, Amiram, and Rina Hildesheim. "VSDI: A New Era in Functional Imaging of Cortical Dynamics."
Nature Reviews Neuroscience 5, no. 11 (2004): 874–85.
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New technology will be essential
for advances in all aspects of
neuroscience.
• improvements in existing methods
• completely new paradigms
How can you prepare to contribute to
innovation and application of cutting-edge
neurotechnology?!
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Read papers?
good way to see results
can assimilate basic concepts
difficult to get a practical feel
strengths/weaknesses opaque
no chance for interaction
Better to see the!
techniques in action!
Courtesy of Sébastien Barré on Flickr. CC license BY-NC-SA.
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web.mit.edu/cnbe!
survey of labs: “speed rotations”
MIT Center for Neurobiological Engineering. http://mit.edu/cnbe/faculty.html
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electrophysiology
high density electrode arrays
chronic recordings
Courtesy of JOVE. CC license BY-NC.
Source: Brunetti, Philip M., Ralf D. Wimmer, et al. "Design and Fabrication of Ultralight Weight, Adjustable Multielectrode Probes for Electrophysiological Recordings in Mice." Journal of Visualized Experiments 91 (2014): e51675.
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light microscopy
visualization of neuroanatomy & plasticity
high throughput imaging
brain clearing techniques
Livet et al. (2007) Nature
Reprinted by permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd: Nature © 2007.
Source: Livet, Jean, Tamily A. Weissman, et al. "Transgenic Strategies for Combinatorial Expression
of Fluorescent Proteins in the Nervous System." Nature 450, no. 7166 (2007): 56–62.
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cellular engineering
in vitro circuit formation
control of cell differentiation
Courtesy of Roger Kamm. Used with permission.
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optogenetics
cell-specific neural stimulatio
Reprinted by permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd: Nature © 2010.
Source: Buchen, Lizzie. "Neuroscience: Illuminating the Brain." Nature 465, no. 7294 (2010): 26–28.
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electron microscopy
ultrastructural analysis of neuronal
connectivity
Briggman & Denk (2006) Curr. Opin. Neurobiol.
Courtesy of Elsevier, Inc., http://www.sciencedirect.com. Used with permission.
Source: Briggman, Kevin L., and Winfried Denk. "Towards Neural Circuit Reconstruction with Volume
Electron Microscopy Techniques." Current Opinion in Neurobiology 16, no. 5 (2006): 562–70.
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MRI/fMRI
anatomy and connectivity
functional MRI
molecular imaging
Huang et al. (2008) J. Neurosci.
Courtesy of the Society for Neuroscience.
Source: Huang, Hao, Akria Yamamoto, et al. "Quantitative Cortical Mapping of Fractional Anisotropy in Developing Rat Brains."
The Journal of Neuroscience 28, no. 6 (2008): 1427–33. Used with permission; available under a CC-BY-NC-SA license.
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MEG/EEG
noninvasive
electrophysiology
Image is in public domain.
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coursework
labs
firsthand demo
in situ lab tours
in-class quizzes (30%)
homework (30%)
final project (30%
participation (10%)
lectures!
background & context
theoretical description
Courtesy of Haldane Martin on Flickr. CC license BY.
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MIT OpenCourseWare
http://ocw.mit.edu
9.123 / 20.203 Neurotechnology in Action
Fall 2014
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